The Caribbean's Call
by sonicstardust
Summary: Elizabeth grows restless after being at home for a few weeks.


Elizabeth Swann gazed out her bedroom window and sighed, it had been only two weeks since she had returned home after being held captive by pirates, and already she was missing the thrill of the open sea.  
"Elizabeth?" her father called through the door, "Someone to see you."  
Elizabeth knew immediately who it was, her handsome fiancée Will Turner was the only one who ever came to see her, maybe she could talk to him about how she felt.  
"I'll be down in a moment." She called back, hurrying to her mirror. The reflection was flawless, with only her pout plaguing her appearance. _I hate how sweet I look_. She told herself angrily, stomping her foot on the floor. She sighed, put on a smile and went downstairs to meet Will.  
He was examining some of the gold candlesticks in the hall when she came down, and immediately looked up and smiled, "Elizabeth," he said, placing the candlestick back on the shelf, "how are you?" he asked politely.  
"Well," she said slowly, but was cut off by her father entering the room.  
"Ah, Mr. Turner," he smiled at the young blacksmith, "I was just telling the horse master that we needed to order some new horseshoes from you. Would you care to come take a look?" This wasn't so much a question, as a request taken for granted that it would be accepted.  
Will followed Governor Swann to the stable, leaving Elizabeth behind to sulk over lack of attention.  
_If I was a man_, she thought, _they wouldn't treat me like this_. Elizabeth then stomped upstairs to her room, still fuming. She sat down at her vanity and glared at her reflection once again, and on a sudden impulse, she called for her maid, "Abigail," she said innocently, "please tell my father that I'm going for into town to buy some new dresses and I'll be back later?"  
The maid nodded and went to deliver her message.  
As soon as she had gone, Elizabeth flew to her sewing basket, and took out her scissors. She sat down at her vanity once again, and began hacking away at her long golden brown hair. Once it was about chin length, she crept to the servants' quarters to borrow some clothes. She put them on, and looked in the mirror; her chest was definitely not flat enough for her to disguise as a man. Elizabeth grinned as a brilliant thought came to her, and grabbing up a pillow, she stuffed it up her shirt and laughed at herself in the mirror, but she still looked feminine. _What am I supposed to do now?_ She thought grimly, _if I decide to turn back now, I'll have to explain my actions to my father_. Then another idea hit her, fake facial hair!  
She grinned and trimmed up a chunk of her hair from the vanity, and sneaked some honey to stick it on with.  
The end result was so convincing that Elizabeth herself would not have known who she was, if she had met herself on the street. She went downstairs quietly, and strutted out down the lane into town.  
Several people looked at her funny, but she just smiled, and tipped her large floppy hat at them and continued on her way. _How differently they react to me now_, she said to herself, walking nonchalantly down to the docks to look out over the water.  
There was an auction going on, a man was making a bid on a huge, brand new looking ship.  
Elizabeth immediately knew she wanted the ship. She had brought no money, but there were other ways of getting what she wanted.  
She walked casually up the shore to where the ship was anchored, but no one paid her much attention, a fat man inspecting a fine looking ship was nothing out of the ordinary.  
Once out of sight of other admirers of the ship, Elizabeth waded into the water, planning on swimming out to the ship, but a sudden rustle startled her. She spun around, but there was no one in sight, backing up, she hit something, and tripped, falling facedown into the water. She stood up quickly, feeling her fake mustache slide off her face.  
The man she had backed into was already halfway up the shore, when Elizabeth called to him.  
"Jack?" she asked, hoping her eyes weren't deceiving her.  
The man spun around, "Elizabeth?" he asked, wading back into the water, "Is that really you?"  
"Jack!" she exclaimed, running to throw her arms around him.  
"What're you doing?" her old friend asked, less shocked sounding than most people would've been.  
"Looks like the same thing as you, commandeering a ship," she told him with a grin, "But why are you commandeering a ship when you already have one?" she asked, picking her mustache off of her shirt.  
"Well, I'm trying to build my very own fleet, but it seems I got here too late." He put his arm on her shoulder, "but why is a respectable girl like you commandeering a ship like some scallywag pirate? You heard the call, didn't you love?" he asked quietly. "The Caribbean always calls you back," he told her, looking out at the clear blue water.  
"But what of Will?" Elizabeth asked, "I still love him."  
Jack smiled and put his tri-cornered hat on Elizabeth's head. "He'll hear the call too, someday. Maybe an hour from now, maybe a year from now, it doesn't matter. He will hear it eventually, and then he'll come find you."  
Jack and Elizabeth strode towards the ship, scaled the side, and commandeered it together.  
As for Will, the Caribbean called him back, for when you've had a taste of adventure, you will keep going back for more. 


End file.
